Storage system



F. T. KERN STORAGE SYSTEM Filed July 26, 1929 Aug. 16; 1932.

4 Sheets-Sheet l gwwmtoz Aug. 16, 1932. F. T. KERN 1,872,457

STORAGE SYSTEM Filed July 26, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l I ln/vento@ im MM zia@ W End/M6014 V F.TKERN STORAGE SYSTEM .Aug. 16, 1932.

Filed July 26, 1929 4 `sheets-shea 4 Patented Aug'. 16, 1932 y uNrrlazD s'ra'rlrasA PATENT OFFICE FRED KERN, F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN sronaen sxsm Application led J'uly 26, v1989. Serial No. 881,158.

This invention 'relates generally to a sys tem or apparatus for storing material such as gravel, stone,l sand, and the like, and 1s especially designed for embodiment 1n a @Gravel plant or stockpile arrangement, ,al-

material from the bed and depositing it on a conveyor which leads to a rockl crush'er. Leaving the crusher, the materialis carried by a conveyor to the classifying and washing screens which serve to remove the clay, dirt,

or the like, and to segregate the crushed raw material into sand and the various sizes of aggregate or gravel. terial is discharged from the screens into the elevated bins. Usually, the sand passes through a sand tank located between the classifying screens and the binsprovided for the sand, the sand tank serving to separate most of the water from the sand, The several bins in which the segregated material is stored have discharge chutes at their lower ends which are sufficiently elevated to permlt of discharge ofthe material by gravity from the bins into railroad cars or into trucks and .the like. In some plants, in lieu of lhaving elevated bins,the bins are mounted over a tunnel through .which a conveyor travels, the conveyor serving as a means for taking material discharged from the bins and conveying it to a railway car, truck, or the like. In the type of plant having the elevated bins, the bins not only have discharge chutes on one side for discharging the material into railway cars or trucks, but also have discharge chutes on their opposite sides for discharging the material onto conveyors which lead to'stock piles. In either of the old types of gravel plants, elaborate constructions were involved,

and such plants are erected at a high first cost and the maintenance and operating costs run into high figures. Another disadvantage of these old types is that they have but a limited capacity. Further, they involve the use of bins and the material in the bins does not have the opportunity to dry out as it does in a stock pile. v

The segregated ma- -tion resides in the vFurther, where inixed material was de' posited inthe stock pile the larger and heavier sizes tended to slide down around the outside of the bottom of the pile and there was no way of preserving the several sizes l of the mixed material properly admixed.

One of the principal objects of the present invention resides in the provision of a system or apparatus for handlin material such as sand and gravel that vis a apted for embodiment in agravel plant or in a stock pile and which, -in either instance, involves a low -irst cost and an economical maintenance and operating cost and yet increases the ca acity of the plant and expedites the hand ing of the various material.

Another important object of the invenrovision of an apparatus of this character wlliich provides for the mixing of the various sizes of aggregate in any desired proportion.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of means for mixing thei material in any particular pile and distributing such material in such manner as may be best suited tovarying conditions met with in the operation'of such lants.

Other objects an advantages reside in cer` tain novel features of the construction arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out inthe appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showing a portion of a gravel plant embodying the present invention, parts being broken away and shown in section for the sake of illustration; l

Figure 1'l is a' fragmentary view in elevation showing the structure that com letes the left hand side of the apparatus in Figure 1;'

Figure 1b is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the structure employed to complete the right hand side of Figure 1;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a view in 'section taken in the lo of Figure 1;

Y i* Y, locate arts'in elevation for the sake ofsimplicity 1n illustration;

Figure'4 is a detail view in elevation show-- s ing one of the feeders employed;

Figure is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view through the tower and partitions of the gravel plant Figure 7 is a fragmentary view in elevation of a form of the invention particularl adapted for use in connection with stoc piles; and

Figure' 7 -is a fragmentary view in elevation showin the structure that completes the parts bro en away at the left of Figure 7. Referring to -thedrawings and more particularly to Figures 1 to 5', `inclusive, lillustrating the invention embodied in a gravel plant, the numeral 1 desi lates generally a central column or tower. his central tower or column is shown as being hollow and the present invention requires that at least the v lower portion thereof be hollow. In cross section the tower is shown as being hexag-v onal, but its cross section may be varied.'

It may be of circular or of any polygonal form or of other shape.` As shown in Figures 1 and 2, radially 'extending walls or di viding partitions 2 of an suitable number extend from the corners o the tower and del fine storage spaces 3. The storage spaces 3 enlarge outwardly as will be understood bycomparing Figures 1 and 2 and they are completely separated from each other by the-partitions 2 so that different grades .or sizes of,

material may be stored in several storzge spaces without danger of admixture. n

4;, the top of the tower classifying and washing screens designated generally at '4 are provid- Aed. `The screens 4 are of conventional construction and are widely used in conventional gravel plants. As usual, the matea supply chute 5 which receives the material from a conveyor 6 leading up from a rock' crusher 7 of conventional constructionand having the usual means such as a belt conveyor and a hopper for sup lying material thereto. The hopper -may fie located in a gravelpit and .supplied with the raw material by a scraperor power shovel inthe usual manner'. f

The material which leaves the screens 4 is carried by chutes 11 to the several storage spaces 3. The sand, before-passing'in'to its stora e space,A travels through thel convention sand settling tank 12.

The material is thus segregated into piles which are built up between the artitions 2 and a inst the portions of t e tower 1 between the partitions. For the purpose of re-claiming the materials from the several piles, either separately rial is fed axially into the screens through or mixed in any desired proportions, the

Vtower adjacent to or at its lower end is provided with a discharge opening 15 for each storagespace. In other Words, the portion of the tower between each pair of adjacent partitions 2 is provided with an opening and the opening opposite each space in which material is stored constitutes a discharge opening through which the material flows by gravity.- Pre erably,

(see Figure 5) controlled by a sliding gate 17 .which may be clamped in various positions to regulate the amount of material that passes through the chute. A conventional feeder 18 may be provided on each chute 16 and maybe driven from an electric motor 19 by belt and pulley gearing 20 and toothed gearing 21. The chute 16, gat-e 17 and feeder 18 are all of conventional equipment now employed with the storage bins in gravel and discharge to a. hopper 25 supported on a each discharge open- I ing 15 is provided with a discharge chute 16 suitable frame work 26 and delivering the material which` it receives to an endless conveyor 27 leading-upwardly to the point of deposit. The conveyor 27 may discharge directly into a truck or vrailway car or it may discharge onto a lido-way 28 leading into a bin or hopper 29 rovided with a controlled outlet 30 which is adapted to discharge into a -railway car or hruck. A s shown, one of 'the spaces 3 is not employed to store material, but is utilized to accommodate the con, ve or 27 ith this arrangement the material as it .comes from the screens is stored in individual stock piles and all of thecadvantages of stock piling are had. And yet all of the disadvantages of present stock piles are avoided. This is especially true in respect of the re-claiming of the material which is easily taken from any of the piles under the control of the feeders. This. structure also makes it feasible y and convenient to lmix the several sizes of the' aggregate in any desired proportions and to do this accurately. The proportions of any mixture are determined by regulating properly the extent to which the several gates 17 are opened and also by varying thespeed at which the several feeders operate. These advantages are had and at the same time the expensive bin constructions or tunneling strucy ture are eliminated. Y

As thematerial discharged from the screens bullds up in theseveral storage com- I partments it 'may be desirableto pull some of it away from the tower to increase the capacity of the storage compartments. On

the other hand, when the stock in any one storage compartment is running low and itis desirable todischarge practicall all of the stock from any compartment t e material lyras pessime;

should be piled u against the tower as closen order to permit of this handling of the material inthe several comartments a drag scraper 30 is provided'and 1s controlled by lines 31 and32 operated by `the drums of a drag scraper hoist desi i at 33 and constructed in accordance wlth the 'disclosure ofthe application ofl Fred T. Kern ated for hoist mechanism, filed January 16, 1929, Serial No.332,761. In the present instance, however, the hoist 33 is mounted on, a wheeled truck 34 travelin on' a circular. track 35 which extends aroun the storage spaces 3Q The line 31 extends from its drum of the hoist out over a traveling pulley 36 and 'then back to the drag scraper 30. The pulley 36 has a yoke carrymg'rollers 38 which embraces a flanged rail 39 carried by the tower adjacent its upper end. Thus, as the hoist 33 moves :around opposite any particular i storage space 3, the pulley 36 follows the hoist, beinrghpulled around .by

the lines 31 and 32e.' us, in any particular storagespace, the drag scraper 30 may be utilize to pile ythe material up against the tower or to drag the material away from the tower.

l i This particular system of handling and storing the sand and the various .sizes of .gravel lends .itself to winter operation as it is particularly ,susceptible ofv organization with means for heating the material. Thus,

as shown in the drawlngs, heating pipes may be provided in the several storage compartments and may be supplie-d withl steam or other heating medium from a common supply pipe 41, which-connects with Aa boileror 4other heater. The pipes40 are preferabl locateda few feet from the tower so as to e fectively heat the material. During very cold weather, when ice forms. in 'the material, ug the pipes. This causes the ice in the material j may be melted by passing steam thro l found in distributing material from railroad cars to trucks or the like. In such plants the .material is-'sin'lp'ly stored,'it having been pre- .viouslymanufactured at a gravel plant and possibly Ialso mixed in the desired proportions. vA stock plant of this type is illustrated in Figures 7 and 7 and difers from the form of the invention hereinabove described only v in the omission of the rock crushera'nd its suppl conveyor and 'in the omiion of the classi ying screens.

As shown in these figures the material is taken directly from a truck or railway car 50 and is discharged onto a feeder 51 which supplies the material to the conveyor 6'. The conveyor. 6, instead of discharging into classifying' screens, discharges into a revolving chute or into a system of stationary chutes desig nated at 52, the function of the chutes 52 merely being to' deposit the material into any -selected oe of the storage spaces.

TheV material is re-claimed in the storage spaces through the inlets 15 and may be mixed and/or conveyed away by means such as that shown at 18 and 27 of Figures 1 to 5.

The invention 'claimedisz Y 1. A storage system including a central tower, `means for providing a plurality of storage spaces around said tower, a trackway extending around vthe tower, a drag scraper hoist movable around the track-way, a drag scraperactuated from said hoist through operating lines and a traveling pulley for one of said lines supported adjacent the u perY end of the tower and movable ther-ea ut under the infiuence'of thedrag scraper hoist,

said drag scraper hoist being selectively `em-J i ployed to pile the material up against or drag the material away from the tower.

2. A storage system comprising a column,

at least the lower lportion of which is hollow, a pluralityof partitions extending outward- Jy from the column and coactin'g therewith to define a plurality ofseparate unconined storage spaces, said column having a discharge opening therein adjacent each storage space to provide for the discharge ofmaterial from any storage space into the interior of the column, means for supplying material to the storage spaces and means'selectively operableA 1n any storage space for piling material up against the column and for dragging matej rial away from'the same.l j

3. A! storage system comprising a column, vat least the lower portion of which is hollow,

aplurality of partitions extending outwardly .from the column and coacti'ng therewith toprovide 'a plurality of` separate unconflned` storage spaces, means for carrying material' to the upper portion of the column and disl chargingitinto the storage spaces, said4col` umn having discharge opening therein adja cent eachstorage space whereby` the material may be taken from any storage space into the interior of the column, and means for transferring the material from the interior of the Vcolumn to a point of deposit.

4. A storage 'system comprising means de-,v lining a common discharge zone, aplurality ofangularly rrelated partitions grouped about said common discharge zone, adjacent partitions diverging from eachother and de-V Y lining storage spaces abuttingV the discharge zone at their innerv ends and unconiined at terial from an their outer ends, means for discharging inaone of said storagespa'c'es into said' disc arge zone, a conveyor for transferring the material discharged into spaces into'said discharge zone' as well as' when material is not bein discharged from the discharge spaces into 51e discharge zone. 5. A storage. system of the character described comprising a .central column, the lower portion owhich at least is hollow, a plurality of ve cal, angularly related par-v titions extending outwardly from the column, adjacentpartitions diverging-v from each other and providing outwardly enlargf ing storage spaces, the inner ends of which abut the column and the outer ends of which are open, each storagespace havin discharge means `leading to the interior of t e column, means regulating the rate of discharge from each storage space into the interior of the column, means :tor transferring. the material discharged into the interior of the column t a point of deposit, and means associated with the upper end of the column for supplying material to any of the. storage spaces. 6. A stoi age system of the character described comprising a central column, the'- lower ortion of which at least is'hollow, a plurality of vertical, angularly related partitions diverging from eachother and prov viding outwardly enlarging. storage spaces,

the inner ends of which abut the column and the outer ends of which are open, each storage space havin discharge means leadin to the interior of t e column, means regulating the rate of discharge from each storage space into the interior of the column, means for transferring the material discharged into the interior of the columnto a point of deposit, y means; associated with theup r end of the column for supplyingviateri 'to any of the storage spaces, a trac ay extending around Lavaur charging material from any one of said stor-4 age spaces into said discharge zone andv meansforsupplying material to any one of said storage spaces, said last named means beinlg operable and effective to supply: materi to said storv spaces when material is being discharged from any of said spaces into salddischarge zone, as well as .when material is not beingdischarged 'from the discharge spaoesinto the discharge zone.

A storage system comprising means deof nertical', angularly related partitions grouped about said common -discharge zone,

adjacent partitions" diverging from. ea'ch' other, and defining storage spaces abuttin the discharge zone at their inner ends an open at their outer ends, means for dischargeing material from any one of saidstorage spaces into said discharge zone and means f or supplying material' to any one of said a common discharge zone, a plurality .v

storage spaces, said last namedmeans being operable and uective to supplyl material to said stel-ave spaces when material is being discharged from any of said spaces into said discharge zone, as well as when material isnot being dischar ed from 'the discharge' vspaces the disc arge zone, andmeans se- A' lectively cooperable with the material in any.

storage space for dragging the" material therem outwardly, in the storage space and awa from the discharge zone and also op-v erab e for piling the material in the dlscharge spaces in the inner portion thereof and adjacent to thedischarge zone..

In witness whereof, I hereto aliix my sig nature.-

FRED T. KERN-'.-

thev column, a drag scraper hoist movable.

around thetrackway, a drag scraper, operating lines connected to the drag scraper and actuated by the hoist and a traveling pulley for one f said lines supported adjacent to the upper end of the column and movable 7 iniluence of `thewdrag ion. 

